Jonathan Wallis, PhD

jonathan wallis

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Jonathan Wallis, PhD

Department:

Associate Professor, Art History

I believe an active and empowered student makes for the best educational experience in the classroom. Moore students make that easy; artists are makers and doers and very rarely are they satisfied with the status quo. Encouraging students to think critically is essential to the learning process. I strive to provide students with the means to achieve their individual goals through experiential learning that emphasizes dialogue and intellectual self-reliance.

Contemporary art fascinates and inspires me because it is so unpredictable, complicated and diverse. I'm particularly interested in recent practice that emphasizes participation and engages in interventionist strategies to challenge socio-political and ethical issues. Critical theory is my other passion and provides a means to broaden the conversation about art and culture substantially. It raises difficult questions about contemporary life and illuminates the world around us from unconventional perspectives that are essential to the critical understanding of twenty-first century global culture.

Working as both a scholar and curator provides me with an important balance between rigorous intellectual investigation and the actual experience of art. Whether it functions inside museum and gallery walls, outside on the streets or in areas not yet officially charted, art is a vital component of the human experience that never ceases to break all boundaries placed on it - and that is what excites and inspires me.